Hair styling has been an important feature of personal grooming throughout the history of human kind. Although many currently popular styles and techniques, such as curling, braiding, and knotting, have been employed for hundreds of years, the pony tail is a relatively recent invention. Formed by gathering together portions of all of a person's hair and securing the gathered strands with an elastic band, the pony tail is the basis of many different hairstyles which range from very simple to extremely intricate. A basic pony tail hairstyle is easy to create and is popular among persons of all ages. However, elaborations on this basic hairstyle are not usually attempted by the lay person. When a more sophisticated or intricate hairstyle is desired, the lay person usually visits a hair salon and pays an experienced hair stylist to provide the desired style. This can be very costly and time consuming.